The last two days brought tremendous rainfall near the coastal town of Volos and on the island of Skiathos. Up to 754 litres of rain fell there in 24 hours, more than in the whole year. By comparison, 154 litres fell in 20 hours during the Ahr Valley disaster in Germany. The masses of water in Greece swept away houses, roads and bridges, three people died and three others are still missing. Mounds of mud remain after the water has receded, homes are destroyed.
There are also various charter bases in Volos and Milina on the mainland and on the island of Skiathos. One of the operators announced that there is currently no electricity or water in the towns, Skiathos airport is still closed, as are the harbours of Volos and Skiathos. Crews who have booked a trip there have been advised to contact the base management next week, as the extent and duration of the damage cannot yet be estimated. The Sporades are a popular sailing area and the islands of Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonnisos are the main destinations.
Omega weather conditions cause continuous rain
A major problem is the large amount of debris that is washed into the Gulf of Volos and the Aegean Sea from the very mountainous surrounding area. They are now floating in the sea and are quite dangerous for charter yachts. It is still unclear whether many yachts were damaged by flotsam during the rainfall. The harbour of Volos is still closed, a large passenger ferry has had to wait to land since yesterday as the harbour was heavily flooded.
The weather chaos can be traced back to the so-called Omega weather situation, which is currently providing us with beautiful early autumn weather in Germany. A high pressure system lies over mainland Europe and Germany, with lows to the west and east of it causing heavy rainfall. According to the weather portal Weather online the air current constantly shovels very humid, warm air from the sea towards the coast. As the water temperatures are very high, a lot of moisture evaporates. This accumulates on the mountain ranges behind the Greek coast and rains down there. As all three pressure formations barely move, the rain continues for days and heavy rainfall and thunderstorms are forecast for the coming week.
